Recent studies have uncovered two genes that are associated with a higher probability of being gay in men. Also an antibody mechanism that may explain why it is more common for men to be gay if they have older brothers (who will be straight).

This is not the full story, of course, and more prenatal and genetic influences may be discovered in future, and possibly even environmental influences. But at this point in time, it seems that the claim that someone is born homosexual has considerable scientific backing.

I 've always had issues with homosexual rights controversy during my work, and I don't understand certian things.

As a paramedic, I have to be nonjudgemental.

So, when I transported gay men and treated their other halves in the same way that I treated a spouse, I always got excoriated and repremanded for it...since only a spouse is allowed in the back of an ambulance.

I always tried to treat people the same, and religious hospitals (where we got a lot of business) would complain to my superiors when I extended courtesy to same-gender couples, and this keptme from being promoted.

It is different now, but in the past policies were set by the agency that was running the service.

There were other exceptions. Police officers could ride in the back if we were transporting prisoners, and we could take someone if we needed a translator. Also, kids could be accompanied by a parent.

The other half of a gay couple?

No. They're not a spouse.

This situation actually made it to the supreme court when a hospital wouldn't let a lesbian visit her life partner when the patient was dying because the parents of the patient forbided it, and the hospital had a policy of allowing relatives to make the desicions.

It didn't matter that the couple was together for 15 years and that they had a child.

As a specific example, I'll ask you to accept certian things just for the sake of me making a point.

I found out (just from observation) that if a man is having a heart attack and his wife is there to comfort him, I could use smaller doses of medication to accomplish whatever it was that I wanted to do.

I believed (and I stress that this is a belief) that this was important, as I wanted to use the smallest dose of medication that was effective, since once you inject a med...you generally can't take it back out.

I expanded these ideas to include the other halves of gay couples under the theory that a paramedic can't be judgemental and must provide similar standards to similar patients regardless of sexual preferences.

This is what got me in trouble.

We have a few Catholic hospitals, and administration would get bent out of shape when they saw me treating the gay patients' other halves like a spouse. This usually amounted to no more than providing a chair, privacy screens, maybe a glass of water, and so forth. I also gave the other halves paperwork (like you would with a spouse) and I would get excoriated.

Our policy (with the exceptions I mentioned above) was that only a spouse was allowed in the back, so I violated policy.

I wanted to take the other halves with me for safety reasons, since I didn't like it when an anxious partner was speeding to the hospital and increasing the possibility of a bad wreck that might get someone killed.

If they were both with me, then everyone was calmer, there were no accidents, and there was no panicky partner isolated in a waiting room making life difficult for hospital staff and the other patients waiting for treatment.

It seemed like a win-win all the way around...but a gay partner isn't the same as a spouse and I should follow policy.

Recent studies have uncovered two genes that are associated with a higher probability of being gay in men. Also an antibody mechanism that may explain why it is more common for men to be gay if they have older brothers (who will be straight).

This is not the full story, of course, and more prenatal and genetic influences may be discovered in future, and possibly even environmental influences. But at this point in time, it seems that the claim that someone is born homosexual has considerable scientific backing.

LMFTFY: "While it has always been the case that you are born with your gender identification, what everyone can see if they look is being supported by increasing genetic identification." But at this point in time, it seems that the claim that someone is born homosexual has considerable scientific backing.

Proof: No one chooses to be gay.............or straight. One can lie about either, but Darwin carries a mean whip.

Real Name: bobbo the contrarian existential pragmatic evangelical anti-theist and Class Warrior.
Asking: What is the most good for the most people?
Sample Issue: Should the Feds provide all babies with free diapers?

Recent studies have uncovered two genes that are associated with a higher probability of being gay in men. Also an antibody mechanism that may explain why it is more common for men to be gay if they have older brothers (who will be straight).

This is not the full story, of course, and more prenatal and genetic influences may be discovered in future, and possibly even environmental influences. But at this point in time, it seems that the claim that someone is born homosexual has considerable scientific backing.

Real Name: bobbo the contrarian existential pragmatic evangelical anti-theist and Class Warrior.
Asking: What is the most good for the most people?
Sample Issue: Should the Feds provide all babies with free diapers?

A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Lance Kennedy wrote:A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Yes, but when you have 12 in 18 years, there's often an underlying cause.

I chalk mine up to very stressful overwork and insufficient hydration and nourishment. It was a Sunday evening in Singapore, and I was still in the office slaving away on whatever, way past dinner time. I felt in coming on (facial numbness) – tried to call my wife here in Japan but couldn`t remember the numbers – but my fingers somehow remembered. She advised the emergency room. I jumped the taxi queue, got an MRI, blood tests, and some strychnine or was it warfarin, plus baby aspirins for several years. The MRI and blood tests showed nothing but the symptoms were there.

Lance Kennedy wrote:A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Yes, but when you have 12 in 18 years, there's often an underlying cause.

Lance Kennedy wrote:A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Yes, but when you have 12 in 18 years, there's often an underlying cause.

So, 12 in EIGHT years would be worse?

Math is not my strong suit. Neither is using the backspace to delete a 10 and write in an 8.

Lance Kennedy wrote:A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Yes, but when you have 12 in 18 years, there's often an underlying cause.

So, 12 in EIGHT years would be worse?

Math is not my strong suit. Neither is using the backspace to delete a 10 and write in an 8.

Lance Kennedy wrote:A TIA is a mini stroke, and the cause is the same as any stroke, a part of the brain is left short of blood flow (and hence oxygen) due to a blood clot or a leaking blood vessel. The difference is that a TIA is sufficiently minor as a medical event that it leaves minimal damage to the brain. It can happen to anyone, but is mostly people over about 65 years of age.

Yes, but when you have 12 in 18 years, there's often an underlying cause.

So, 12 in EIGHT years would be worse?

Math is not my strong suit. Neither is using the backspace to delete a 10 and write in an 8.